'Formula One-Drive to Survive'

[Edwardoka]

Another thing which took the excitement out of it for me was taking refuelling out of the pit stops. I still watch and enjoy the occasional race but I'm nowhere near as invested in it as I used to be.

Yep.

Used to enjoy speculating and weighing up the benefits of a 2 stop strategy vs a 3 stop strategy, or seeing drivers stay out longer on worn tyres to get the most out of having a mostly empty tank while their opponents get caught in a pit jam.

All gone. Of course it's fine, they added a turbo boost button

 

[gavroche]

F1 was good when the cars had manual gearboxes and no radio. Drivers had to think for themselves then and not be dictated what to do by the team manager and a car full of electronics. Also , drivers were allowed to race properly without H&S controlling everything. Needless to say, I don't watch it anymore, too boring.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Another thing which took the excitement out of it for me was taking refuelling out of the pit stops. I still watch and enjoy the occasional race but I'm nowhere near as invested in it as I used to be.

I disagree I disliked refuelling as all it did was split the race up into 2, 3 or 4 sprints where really the only last one had any interest.

 

[AndyRM]

I disagree I disliked refuelling as all it did was split the race up into 2, 3 or 4 sprints where really the only last one had any interest.

Yeah, that's a fair take too.

 

[Beebo]

F1 was good when the cars had manual gearboxes and no radio. Drivers had to think for themselves then and not be dictated what to do by the team manager and a car full of electronics. Also , drivers were allowed to race properly without H&S controlling everything. Needless to say, I don't watch it anymore, too boring.

The F1 racing series is the cutting edge of racing technology. If you want old style racing there are plenty of racing series to follow, but F1 isn’t going to do that.

Not sure what you mean about H&S stopping drivers racing. The cars are faster than they’ve ever been. I don’t want to go back to the era that averaged one death per year. Safety flags can be annoying but if anything they back the race up and increase the overall racing.

 

[Edwardoka]

The F1 racing series is the cutting edge of racing technology. If you want old style racing there are plenty of racing series to follow, but F1 isn’t going to do that.

Not sure what you mean about H&S stopping drivers racing. The cars are faster than they’ve ever been. I don’t want to go back to the era that averaged one death per year. Safety flags can be annoying but if anything they back the race up and increase the overall racing.

No-one is seriously advocating a return to the days of the 60s where the cars and tracks were high speed deathtraps waiting to snatch a driver's life away in an instant.

We should of course insist that as much is done as possible to stop death and serious injury in any sport, but that argument taken to its logical conclusion: why even have drivers in the cars any more? Realtime drone technology exists.

The cars may be faster but pure speed was never what was exciting about it. It used to be that you could tell how hard a driver was pushing by how much they lifted off at the Eau Rouge, does that still happen with the superior aerodynamics and suspension or can they take it flat out?

 

[Reynard]

Where's your Schumacher limping into the pits on 3 wheels to punch Coulthard?

Or Piquet and Salazar...

The best racing drivers are really selfish, and don't care, either who they walk over to get what they want, or what other people think of them.

I'm far less into F1 than I used to be - there's better racing to be had elsewhere. F1 from the mid 80s through to the mid 90s probably had the best balance between good racing, technology and challenging the drivers. Plus the cars actually looked good - the current gen of F1 cars are truly fugly.

Although the safety of that era (and prior to it) is something I really don't want to return to. When a fatality touches you personally...

Things are much better regarding driver safety these days, and I'm glad to have played a small part in that.

 

[gavroche]

The cars are faster than they’ve ever been.

Not really. In the 70s , cars could do 233mph compared to 187mph in thre 60s, according to Google. How fast nowadays, certainly not faster than 233mph I think.

 

[Beebo]

Not really. In the 70s , cars could do 233mph compared to 187mph in thre 60s, according to Google. How fast nowadays, certainly not faster than 233mph I think.

but corner and braking is vastly improved so lap times are much quicker.

 

[Reynard]

Not really. In the 70s , cars could do 233mph compared to 187mph in thre 60s, according to Google. How fast nowadays, certainly not faster than 233mph I think.

Ultimate straight line speed isn't everything - unless you're drag racing.

Back in the 1970s, the chassis were made aircraft-style, riveted aluminium. Tended to go into origami mode when crashed. These are nowhere near as stiff as today's carbon tubs, and this makes a massive difference in handling. 70s cars were quite often sideways - when you're doing that, you're scrubbing off speed and losing time. Mechanical grip is so much better these days.

Tyre technology - tyres are grippier and more predictable. It's not my area of ken, so can't comment so much on this.

Aerodynamics are so much better - or rather, the understanding of aerodynamics is so much better. Which means the car is pushed into the track more, so more consistent contact and less sliding around.

You've gone from 4-speed hewland manual gearboxes to 7-speed seamless shifting automatics - shifts are quicker, not much for an individual shift, but multiply that over a whole race distance...

There might be some other things that spring to mind, but that's pretty well much it in a nutshell.

 

[gavroche]

F1 has become boring for now as it has become just a procession of cars going round a circuit due to all the regulations that tell drivers when and where they can overtake . That isn't racing for me Of course, I don't wish anyone to be killed but racing means taking risks sometimes, it is what makes it interesting so let's face it, the cars themselves are pretty safe nowadays , probably safer than the ones you buy off the forecourt. F1 is just like watching cricket now, boring.

 

[AndyRM]

So, I've watched all of the first series now, and half of the second.

Definitely prefer the first, particularly as most of the in car shots seem to have the camera turned around the wrong way; I'm well aware of what a visor, helmet and tiny steering wheel looks like.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Still think F1 would be improved by the drivers doing their own pit stops.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

They ought to combine it with supermarket sweep. Oh Lewis has stopped for bog roll, and Vettel is going for the hand sanitize. This could get interesting.

 

[Archie_tect]

Perhaps F! should seriously consider taking this opportunity to scrap the internal combustion engine forever and put all their focus on alternative energy power- think of the advancements they could be making in the lockdown... unless they merge with e-formula racing?